Arch support for shoes



Sept. 22, 19 25.

1,554,478 c. ZERGA I ARCH SUPPORT FOR SHOES Filed Aug. 3. 1921 2 Sheets-vSheet l INVENTOR 3y czarze 28 C. ZERGA ARCH SUPPORT FOR snbss Sept.22, 1925. 1,554,478

Filed Aug. 5. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VIN T011 czwzw 36 Patented Sept.22, 1925.

, UNITED, STATE cIIAnLEs ZERGA, or PHILADELPHIA, .PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORor oNE-IIALP TO WILLIAM A..ARM-STR01\TG, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

Anon sIiPPoRr Port sHoEs.

Application filedAug'ust 3, 1921. ser al No."4s9,4's3.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, CHARLESJZERGA,L citizen o'f'the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphiaand State ofPennsylvania,'have invented new and useful Improvements in anArchSupport for Shoes, of which the followingis a' specification.

I My invention relates to new and useful improvements in an archsupportforshoes, and'has'for its object to provide an exceedingly simpleand effective device of this character that will give a resilientsupport to the arch of a w earers foot.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a device to besecured in the shoe during the course of manufacture so as to be anintegral part of the shoe.

Another object'of the invention is to construct an arch support forfootwear consisting of a pad of felt, canvas, leather, goring or othersuitable material and a flexible nonmetallic supporting element such ascelluloid, the latter having a coating of plaster Paris, if desired, torender it incombustible under ordinary conditions, the said support Withthese ends in view, this invention consists in the details ofconstruction and combination of' elements hereinafter set forth and thenspecifically'designated by the claim.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this inventionappertains may understand how to make and use the same, I will describeits construction in detail, referring by numerals to the accompanyingdrawings forming a part of this application, in which Fig. 1, is aperspective View of a shoe showing my improved arch support therein.

Fig. 2, is an enlarged plan view of an insole showing the application ofthe arch support thereto.

Fig. 3, is an end View thereof.

Fig. 4, is a transverse sectional view through a shoe in the region ofthe arch sup port and illustrating the same locatedinside the shoelining.v

Fig. 5, is a face view of the support laid out fiat; and I Fig. 6,'is asectional view thereof.

In carrying out my invention as here embodied, 2 represents a shoe'orarticle of footwear which may be made of any suitable material and any.desirable shape or style and includes an insole 3 to which is attachedthe lower edge of my improved'arch support f [by suitable attachingmeans such as stitches of thread indicated by the numeral 5. The supportis aifixed tothe insole in" the region of the instep portion thereof orso located thereon that when the insole is in place the support will liein the instep of the shoe beyond the counter and said support is notattached to any other part of the shoe.

When in place the arch support may be outside of the shoe lining 6 asshown in Fig. l or it may be located between said lining and the side ofthe shoe so as to be covered by said lining as illustrated in Fig. 4.

The arch support 4 consists of a pad 7 of felt, canvas, leather, goringor other suitable material, a flexible non-metallic supporting element8, preferably a sheet of celluloid and a cover 9 of suitable textilefabric to enclose the sheet of celluloid. All of these parts are affixedto each other by suitable means such as for instance cement or stitchingand if found desirable the celluloid may be coated on one or both sideswith a thin layer of plaster Paris 10 in ordertoreduce to a minimum thecombustibility of the celluloid under ordinary conditions of use.

During the course of manufacture of the arch support and itsplacement inthe article dition it is attached to the other elements of the supportand the latter secured to the insole, then the insole with the attachedsupport is placed in position by the ordinary lasting operation whichwill cause the arch support toconform to the shape of the instep portionof the shoe. When the solvents have evaporated or the celluloid hasdried out the last may be removed and the arch support will retain itsshape.

The supporting element being of celluloid while maintaining a slightpressure upon the arch of the foot and as the foot is raised the supportwill follow the rel'aX'ed'pos'ition of the foot.

' An arch support made as herein specified will not be affected by theheat of the body .or by Weather and climatic conditions.

One of the particular advantages obtained by this invention is thatdifferent thickness of celluloid may be utilized. for the supportingelement t-huslregulating. the degree of flexibility of the arch supportaccording to whether used with childrens or adults shoes or according tothe weight of the wearer or according to the pressure desired upon thewearers foot.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact details ofconstruction as herein shown as these may be varied within the limits ofthe appended claim without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim. as new and"useful is: In a device of the character stated an article of footwearhaving an insole, an arch support comprising a pad to engage the foot ofthe wearer, a celluloid supporting member aflixed to said pad and shapedto correspond to the contour-of the article of footwear in the region ofthe instep thereof, and a covering disposed across said sup portingelement and afiixed to said element and said pad, said arch supportbeing se- -cured alongits lower edge to the instep edge of the insole,the remainder of said support being free to follow the movements of thewearers toot. v 4 In testimony whereof, I have hereunto aflixed mysignature.

CHARLES ZERGA,

